Carbon ribbon supply for typewriters



April 23, 1957 L. w. ZAISER 2,789,677

CARBON RIBBON SUPPLY FOR TYPEWRITERS Filed Nov. 14, 1955 FIG. I

LLOYD w. zm sen INVENTQR ATTORNEY United States Patent CARBON RIBBONSUPPLY FOR TYPEWRITERS Lloyd W. Zaiser, Aurora, Ill., assignor toSmith-Corona Inc., Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication November 14, 1955, Serial No. 546,458

6 Ciaims. (Cl. 197-172) The invention relates to improvements in carbonribbon supplies for typewriters.

Typewriters are known wherein type impressions are inked at a printingpoint by a carbon paper ribbon which is fed once past the printing pointand then discarded, the ribbon being progressively unwound from a woundsupply and rewound after passing the printing point, the rewound ribbonbeing discarded when the wound supply is exhausted. Such carbon paperribbons, which are usually fed one letter space distance at a time pastthe printing point, have a very short useful life and must frequently bereplaced notwithstanding the fact that they are usually supplied inlengths of 200 yards or more. The ribbons are formed of very thin paper,are coated on one face only with carbon paper ink having a wax base, andusually are about A" to A wide. Since the ribbons are easily torn orruptured, they usually are fed through the typewriter and rewound byfriction drive means.

The general purpose of the invention is to provide an improved articleof manufacture comprising a wound supply of such ribbon and soconstructed that the ribbon may be installed in and removed from atypewriter by a typist quickly and easily and with a minimum of soilingof the hands.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide an inexpensive, lightweight and disposable wound ribbon supply including core means andribbon attaching means whereby the core means may be used as a rewindcore for a new ribbon after the ribbon originally wound on the coremeans has been used.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide in such a ribbon supplyimproved means for preventing accidental unwinding of the wound ribbonprior to installation in a typewriter and for facilitating installationof the ribbon in the typewriter.

The foregoing and other purposes of the invention will more fully appearfrom the following description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention illustrated in. the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure l is an end view of the wound carbon paper ribbon supply intactas furnished for installation in a typewriter;

Figure 2 is an end view of the core means with its two ribbon attachingmeans hereinafter described and showing the inner end of the originalribbon as it is attached to the core means prior to reeling of theribbon;

Figure 3 is an edge view of the parts shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front elevation, with certain parts brokenaway, of a known carbon ribbon typewriter and showing the ribbon supplyinstalled in the typewriter; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the core means taken on the line 55 ofFigure 2.

The disposable ribbon supply comprises a two-part core means and 11, acarbon paper ribbon 12 wound upon the core means, and additional meanshereinafter ice described. The core means comprises a cylindrical bear?ing bushing 10 havinga tight frictional fit within an annulus 11. Theannulus 11 consists of a short length of thin cardboard tubing about 14inch thick and the length of which corresponds with the width of theribbon, preferably about inch. The bearing bushing 10 has a cylindricalaxial bearing opening 10 therethrough, the diameter of which isone-half, or less than one-half, that of the bushing, said bushingconsisting of laminated cardboard disks having a diameter of preferablyabout 1 /2 inches and which are disposed in planes perpendicular to theaxial line of the bushing. Said two-part core means is of light weight,is inexpensive, has a high resistance to radial and lateral crushing andbending, and is adapted to fit ona supporting shaft or hub means ofsmall diameter provided therefor in a typewriter.

The carbon paper ribbon 12 has an inked face 12 and an uninked face 12*,said ribbon being wound on the core means with its inked face innermost.The inner end of the ribbon is attached to the core member 11 by meansof a short length of adhesive tape 13 which extends only part way aboutthe periphery of the core member. Said tape has an uncoated outer face,its inner face being coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and beingadherently pressed throughout one end portion of the tape to theperiphery of core member 11 and, throughout the remainder of the tape,to the outer uncoated face of the underlying inner end portion of theribbon.

To adapt the core means for use as a re-windcore means for anotherribbon following use of the ribbon originally wound upon the core means,as hereinafter more fully explained, there is provided a second shortlength of adhesive tape 14 whch extends only part way about theperiphery of the core member 11 and which has an uncoated outer face andan inner face coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive. One end portionof tape 14 has its inner adhesiveface adherently pressed to theperiphery of core member 11 and the remainder of the length of said tape14 is free of the core and is covered by a protective strip or tape ofwaxed paper 15. The waxed paper strip 15 may be removed from the tape 14by grasping it at one end and peeling it off as indicated in Figure 2.For convenience in performing this operation, a narrow portion of theinner face of tape 14 adjacent one end of strip 15, preferably theinnermost end of the strip, is left uncoated with adhesive. The majorportion of the waxed paper strip 15 is pressed firmly enough to theadhesive surface of tape 14 to adhere thereto but the resistance of thewaxed paper to adherence to tape 14 is sufiicient to permit easy removalof strip15- from tape 14 without said strip carrying with it on suchremoval any material amount of the adhesive coating of tape 14. Tapes 13and 14 are formed ofvery thin paper but, if desired, may be formed ofother thin material such as plastic sheet material.

The carbon paper ribbon 12 is wound on the core means clockwise, asviewed in Figure l, and is wound inked face innermost, and the tapes 13and 14 extend similarly clockwise around the core means from that end ofeach tape which is adhesively attached to the core means. The woundribbon is held in wound condition by a short sealing adhesive tape 16which is formed of paper or other suitable very thin material easilyrupturable by a typist and coated on only one face with a pressuresensitive adhesive material. This sealing tape 16 extendscircumferentially about the wound ribbon supply over a small extent ofsaid supply circumference with its adhesive face pressed adherently onthe uncoated outer face of the reeled carbon paper ribbon at both sidesof the outer end edge of theribbon to hold the ribbon against accidentalunwinding.

Said adhesive tapes and the protective tape are of the 'same width asthe ribbon and their longitudinal edges are aligned with those of theribbon.

The above describedribbon supply may be easily handled without soilingof the hands and without crushing or deforming the core. Notwithstandingits large diameter the supply is of very light weight and it has a corewhich is of light weight, very strong, and inexpensive notwithstandingthe large dlameter of the core and which may be mounted on supportinghubs or shafts .of small diameter in the typewriter, the core beingreusable as a rewind core for a second carbon paper ribbon anddiscardable with that ribbon.

. -The improved ribbon supply is shown in Figure 4 installed in a knowncarbon ribbon typewriter of the kind set forth, only so much of thetypewriter being shown as is necessary for an understanding of the modeof use of the improved ribbon supply. The known typewriter has at theright hand side thereof a stationary supporting spindle 17 which extendshorizontally and transversely of the machine and on this spindle theribbon supply is supported for unwinding. The typewriter has at its lefthand side a spindle 18 which is rotatively driven intermittently or stepby step, and by means not shown, as each letter is typed, said spindleturning clockwise as-viewed-from the left side of the machine andserving as a ribbon rewinding spindle. Suitable ribbon guides 19, 20, 21and 22 also are provided on the typewriter which also has the usualribbon vibrator, not shown, but

through which the ribbon passes intermediate guides 20 and 21 and bywhich the ribbon is lifted at the type strokes to interpose the ribbonbetween the type and the printing point in the well known manner.

Detachably mounted. on the reduced outer end portion of spindle 17 is aribbon supply housing and guide means comprising a flanged disk 23 andan outer disk 24 removably held clamped against the flange of disk 23jbya knob 25 which is detachably held to spindle 17 The two disks are heldagainst rotation by engagement of guide 19 in radial slots in saiddisks,- and the fiange of disk 23 is cut away forward of said guide forpassage of the carbon ribbon upwardly out of the housing at the front ofguide 19. The ribbon rewinding spindle has a reduced hub portion at theinner end of which a ribbon guiding disk 26 is fixed for rotation withthe spindle. An outer ribbon guiding disk 27 and a knob 28 aredetachably held to the spindle 18 in a manner to lightly frictionallyclamp between disks 26 and 27 a used ribbon core 10-11 mounted on thehub portion of spindle 18 for friction slip driving of the core torewind a carbon ribbon as it is unwound from a supply whose core isjournalled on stationary spindle 17.

The l'lbbOll supply shown in Figure 1 is slipped upon spindle 17 withknob 25 and disk 24 removed and with that side of the supply appearingin Figure 1 outermost. Seal 16 is broken and the free end of the ribbonis pulled upward from the front upper portion of the wound supply infront of guide 19, thence rearward over guide 19 to guide 20 and twistedand carried to the left behind guides 20 and 21 with its inked facefacing rearward adjacent the front of the platen of the typewr ter,thence forward over guide 22 with the ribbon twisted to present itsinked face to guide 22,and finally downward to the ribbon rewind core1011 which is slipped on the hub portion of spindle 18 with that side ofthe core shown in Figure 2 innermost.

The core mounted on spindle 18 is one from which the carbon ribbon hasbeen unwound and used for typing and from which the inner end of theused ribbon has been detached by tearing off its attaching tape 13. Thiscore is transferred to the spindle 18 to serve as a rewind core. Tape 15is detached from tape 14 of this empty core and the leading end of theribbon of a new supply which has been threaded through the guides asabove described is adhesively attached at its uninked face to the freeportion of tape 14 for rewinding of the new ribbon supply inked faceinnermost on the core on the rewind spindle.

The light weight core with its small diameter bore is highly desirablein that the large bulks of a fresh and a fully rewound supply of ribbontogether with their supporting cores constitute large diameter masses ofminimum weight having a minimum tendency to over-rotate in response tointermittent rotation of the rewind spindle 18 and requiring a minimumof efiiort to feed the ribbon. The entire ribbon supply is of lightweight, is inexpensive, its core may be used once as a rewind core anddiscarded with a ribbon rewound thereon, and the supply may be handled,quickly installed, and discarded with ease and with a minimum of soilingof the hands. In passing a fresh ribbon between guides 20 and 21, it isengaged in the ribbon vibrator of the machine by the typist in the usualmanner.

I claim:

1. A disposable carbon ribbon supply for use in typewriters which unwinda type impression inking carbon paper ribbon from a supply core andrewind the ribbon on a rewind core during typing. and comprising a woundsupply of carbon paper ribbon having an inked and an uninked face andwound inked face innermost in concentric convolutions, a two-partcylindrical core supporting the wound ribbon including a cardboard tubeand a cylindrical bearing bushing which has a tight friction fit withinsaid tube for conjoint rotation of the tube and bushing, said bushingformed of laminated disks of cardboard disposed perpendicularly to theaxial line of the two-part core, a pressure sensitive adhesive tapeadhering to the outer periphery of the wound supply of ribbon andextending across the outer end edge of the ribbon to thereby seal thewound supply of ribbon against accidental unwinding, a second pressuresensitive adhesive tape adhering to the periphery of the tube and to theuninked face of the inner end portion of the wound ribbon to attach theribbon to the core, a third pressure sensitive adhesive tape having oneend portion thereof adhering to the periphery of the tube and itsopposite end portion free, and an adhesive resistant waxed paper tapeunderlying the free end portion of said third adhesive tape and weaklyadhering thereto whereby, after complete unwinding of the ribbon fromthe core and removal of the waxed paper tape, the core may be used as arewind core for the ribbon of a similar supply attachable to the core bythe free end portion of the third adhesive tape and discardable withsaid core when rewound thereon, said ribbon and all of said tapes beingformed of very thin paper and having coincident longitudinal edges, eachtape extending only part way about the core and each of the adhesivetapes having a nonadhesive outer face and an inner face coated with apressure sensitive adhesive.

2. A disposable carbon ribbon supply, as claimed in claim 1, wherein thewaxed paper tape has one end portion thereof free from the thirdadhesive tape adjacent that end portion of said third adhesive tapewhich adheres to the tube.

3. A carbon ribbon supply for use in typewriters of the kind specifiedand which comprises a carbon ribbon wound inked face innermost and inconcentric convolutions, a disposable two-part cylindrical supportingcore to which the inner end of the ribbon is connected and about whichthe ribbon is wound, said core including a peripheral cardboard tube anda cylindrical bearing bushing having a tight frictional fit within saidtube and formed of laminations of cardboard disposed perpendicularly tothe axial line of the core, an adhesive tape across the outer end edgeof the ribbon and adhering to the adjacent underlying portions of theuninked outer face of the ribbon to prevent accidental unwinding of theribbon, a pressure sensitive adhesive tape having a free end portion andan end portion adhering to the periphery of the core tube, and aprotective tape highly resistant to adherence thereto of said pressuresensitive tape and interposed between the core and the free end portionof said tape, each of said tapes having its longitudinal edges alignedwith those of the ribbon, and said core being usable, after unwindingand detachment of said ribbon therefrom, as a rewind core for the ribbonof a second and similar supply, which latter ribbon is attachable to thecore by adhering that ribbon to the :free end portion of said pressuresensitive tape.

4. A carbon ribbon supply for use in typewriters of the kind specifiedand which comprises a disposable and cylindrical core of light weightand having an axial bearing bore of much smaller diameter than that ofthe core, a carbon ribbon wound in concentric convolutions around thecore and having its inner end connected with the core, an adhesive tapeadhesively engaged with the periphery of the wound ribbon with the tapeextending across the outer end edge of the ribbon to prevent accidentalunwinding of the ribbon, a pressure sensitive adhesive tape having afree end portion and an end portion adhering to the periphery of thecylindrical core, and a protecting tape for the free end portion of saidpressure sensitive tape and interposed between the core and said freeend portion of the pressure sensitive tape, said core being usable,after unwinding and detachment of the wound rib bon, as a rewind corefor the ribbon of a second and similar supply, which last-mentionedribbon is attachable to the core by adhering that ribbon at one end tothe free end portion of the pressure sensitive tape.

5. A carbon ribbon supply for typewriters comprisbetween the core andthe remaining portion of the other one of the adhesive tapes andremovable for use of that tape portion to attach a second carbon ribbonto the core to permit re-use of the core as a ribbon rewind core forsaid second ribbon following unwinding and detachment from the core ofthe first-mentioned carbon ribbon.

6. A carbon ribbon supply for typewriters of the kind specified andwhich comprises a carbon ribbon having an inked face and an uninkedface, a cylindrical core upon which the ribbon is wound inked faceinnermost, a pressure sensitive adhesive tape having a non-adhesive faceand also having one end portion adhesively attached to the periphery ofthe core, and a protective tape interposed between the core and theadhesive face of the other end portion of the adhesive tape andremovable for use of that end portion of the adhesive tape to attach asecond carbon ribbon to the core to adapt the core for re-use as are-wind core for a second carbon ribbon.

No references cited.

